Season Outlook• The 2012-13 UALR Trojans return four letterwinners and two starters off a team that finished the 2011-12 season with a 15-16 overall record and a 12-4 mark in Sun Belt Conference play. • The Trojans' roster features a Preseason First Team All-Sun Belt selection in Will Neighbour, as well as a group of three sophomores (Ben Dillard, Michael Javes and Taggart Lockhart) that combined to start 43 games last season.• UALR welcomes eight newcomers to the roster, including, six freshmen and two junior college transfers, and brings back three redshirt players.

About UT Martin• The Skyhawks finished the 2011-12 season with a 4-27 overall record and went winless (0-16) in Ohio Valley Conference play. • UT Martin returns eight letterwinners and four starters off last season's team, led by junior Mike Liabo, who averaged a team-best 15.2 points per game and knocked down 68 treys (2.3 per game).• Head coach Jason James is beginning his fourth season in Martin and thus far has compiled a 20-73 record in his first three seasons.• The Skyhawks beat Illinois College in an exhibition matchup by a 109-79 score on Friday, Nov. 2.• Bobby Jones led UT Martin with 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting in the exhibition win. Myles Taylor added 19 points and 10 rebounds.

All-Time Against the Skyhawks• UALR holds a 3-0 advantage in three meetings against UT Martin. All three meetings have taken place in Little Rock, Ark.• The last time these two teams played, UALR edged out a 58-56 win over the visiting Skyhawks on Nov. 25, 2006 at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans were led by a 13-point, 15-rebound effort from Rashad Jones-Jennings and overcame a seven-point deficit with less than seven minutes to play to pull out the win.

Neighbourhood Watch• Junior Will Neighbour was recently named Preseason First Team All-Sun Belt in a vote of the league's coaches. • Neighbour earned Second Team All-Sun Belt honors as a sophomore in 2011-12 despite battling a torn labrum in his shoulder throughout the second half of the season. • The 6-10 forward played in 29 games with 18 starts during the 2011-12 season, ranking second on the team in scoring (10.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.3 rpg), while leading the Trojans in three-point shooting (.413) and made three pointers (43).• Neighbour ranked seventh in the Sun Belt with a .413 three-point field goal percentage and an .815 free-throw percentage.• The Grayshott, England-native was named Sun Belt Player of the Week on Jan. 2, 2012 after averaging 18.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in road wins at North Texas and Denver.• Had two double-doubles on the year: an 11-point, 12-rebound effort at Michigan State (Nov. 20), and 19 points and 11 rebounds in a win at North Texas (Dec. 29).• Scored in double figures 15 times on the year and led the Trojans in scoring on nine occasions.

Block Party• Sophomore Michael Javes ranked sixth in the Sun Belt and led the Trojans with 44 blocked shots (1.5 bpg) in the 2011-12 season.• The Cali, Colombia-native had six games with three-or-more blocked shots, including a season-high five against IUPUI (Nov. 15) and Arkansas State (Jan. 14).• Javes played in 30 games with 23 starts as a true freshman, averaging 5.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.• He made 14 starts in league play and saw his numbers rise to 5.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game over 21.9 minutes against conference opponents.

Leep Year• Sophomore Gus Leeper returns to the Trojans' lineup in 2012-13 after sitting out all of last season with a knee injury suffered in an offseason pickup game. • Leeper played in 29 games with eight starts as a true freshman, averaging 1.7 points and 1.7 rebounds over 10.0 minutes per game.• Took on a larger role at the end of the season, starting eight of the team's final nine contests, including all four games at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. • The Austin, Texas-native averaged 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game with a .471 field goal percentage and a team-high four blocks (1.25 per game) in the Trojans' 2011 SBC Tournament run.• Averaged just 6.2 minutes per game over his first 20 appearances, but saw that number rise to 18.6 minutes per game over the final nine contests of the 2010-11 season.

Size to Spare• In addition to Neighbour, Javez and Leeper, all of which stand 6-10, the Trojans' roster features four more players standing 6-7 or taller.• Freshman Andrew Poulter (6-11, 282 lbs.), redshirt freshman James White (6-8, 215 lbs.), junior Mike Evans (6-8, 215 lbs.) and freshman Mareik Isom (6-7, 193 lbs.) give the Trojans a total of seven players that measure 6-7 or taller on their current roster.

Turning Point• A major task for the Trojans this season will be replacing the play of All-Sun Belt point guard D'Andre Williams, who graduated last year after averaging a team-best 13.2 points and totaling 122 assists and 52 steals in his senior season.• Options for replacing Williams include freshmen John Gillon and Josh Hagins, two freshmen who committed to UALR on the same day and join the Trojans following decorated high school careers.• Gillon was a two-time First Team All-District selection at Strake Jesuit in Houston, Texas. He was named the District 19-5A Offensive Player of the Year as a senior, when he averaged 21 points and four assists per game as the Crusaders went 26-4 and 14-0 in district play.• Hagins was an All-State selection at Airline HS in Bossier City, La., where he averaged 14.4 points, 6.6 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game as a senior.

No Place Like Home• Friday's opener against UT Martin will mark just the fourth time in his time as head coach at UALR that head coach Steve Shields has played his season opener at home. • Shields is a perfect 3-0 in season openers played at home. The Trojans' last opened at home to start the 2007-08 season, when they beat University of the Ozarks, 92-54., in the Jack Stephens Center. • Overall, Shields is 5-4 in season openers in his nine seasons as head coach at UALR.• Shields sports a 92-40 home record in his tenure with the Trojans.

The Small Screen• The 2012-13 Sun Belt television package includes a potential ESPN2 game for the Trojans. UALR's game at North Texas on Jan. 26 has been selected as a Wildcard game by ESPN. As the date draws closer, ESPN will elect to televise either the game between UALR and North Texas, or Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee.• The Sun Belt Network will visit the Jack Stephens Center on Jan. 12 to televise the game between UALR and FIU at 3:30 p.m. • Sun Belt Network games are carried by Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS) and Cox Sports Television (CST), and will likely be available through ESPN3 and ESPN's FullCourt package. • The Trojans also have a television game lined up at Cincinnati on Dec. 6 (Fox Sports Ohio), as well as an ESPN3 game against Middle Tennessee on Jan. 17 in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Preseason Recognition• UALR has been picked to finish third in the Sun Belt's West Division in a preseason poll of the coaches.• Sophomore Will Neighbour was selected to the Preseason All-SBC First Team.• North Texas received all 11 first-place votes as the preseason pick to win the West. Middle Tennessee received all 11 first-place votes as the choice to win the East Division.• Sophomore Tony Mitchell from North Texas is the Preseason Player of the Year.

Up Next• The Trojans will play a pair of road matchups at Louisiana Tech (Nov. 14) and Ole Miss (Nov. 16) following Friday night's game against UT Martin. • UALR will next play in the Jack Stephens Center on Monday, Nov. 19 against Milwaukee as part of the Hoops for Hope Classic. • The Trojans open conference play on Thursday, Nov. 29 against Troy at the Jack Stephens Center.